Top homegrown talents lead Philippine Ballet Theatre’s‘The Merry Widow’
Now in its 31st season, Philippine Ballet Theatre (PBT) will feature The Merry Widow, which introduces a powerhouse cast of homegrown talent led by 2016 Cultural Center of the Philippines’ highest awarded female dancer Irene Kim Abrogena and 2016 World Ballet Competition 4th Place Winner Veronica Atienza alternating in the lead role. Esteemed guest artist from Germany, Martin Buczcko, will share his dancing and choreographic talents as the male lead role.
The Merry Widow first delighted theater audiences as an operetta by Hungarian composer Franz Lehár, first shown in Vienna in 1905. Lehar’s operetta, presented as a musical feast, captures the contrast of the main characters, the fiery, passionate nature of Balkan the Pontevedrians and the elegant sensibilities of Parisians, whose city is the backdrop for this story of love and intrigue. Choreographed by artistic director Ronilo Jaynario, PBT’s version appeals to the Filipino audience’s eye for passion, melodrama and “vida/contravida” counterplay as it fuses innuendoes of political intrigue with the characters’ licentious and comical misadventures.
Subtle strength, unbridled enthusiasm, and enduring grace are the hallmarks of PBT’s young crop of dancers. Coming from a wellspring of Filipino talent, honed by the dedication of Russian ballet master Anatoly Panasyukov together with Ronilo Jaynario, the lead dancers for The Merry Widow add another layer of excitement through their take on the ballet’s lush choreography.
World-renowned prima ballerina Margot Fonteyn of the Royal Ballet of England danced the role of Hanna Glawari, the “merry widow,” when she was almost 60 years old, as her last major ballet role. In an interesting counterpoint, PBT’s The Merry Widow will be danced by young lead dancers, both between the ages of 19 and 21, who aim to show that they can essay this ballet’s challenging mix of maturity and hilarity with grace and aplomb.
Through a series of intimate pas de deux or dance duets and ballroom dance scenes, themes of courtship, romance, forbidden love and adultery receive both provocative and witty choreographic treatment. Lehár’s music remains as irresistibly appealing as when his operetta was first performed, and provides a perfect foil for the subtlety and strength of this ballet’s repertoire of characters. For this ballet, the dancers are called upon to employ their talents through not just classical ballet, but also through character dance, mime, and theatre acting. It certainly is a show to watch out for!
The Merry Widow will be shown on Sept. 30, 3 p.m. and 8 p.m., and Oct. 1, 3 p.m., at the Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo in the Cultural Center of the Philippines, Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City. Matinee tickets are P1,500 for orchestra center and P1,000 for orchestra side seats. Evening show tickets are P2,000 for orchestra center and P1,500 for orchestra side seats. For ticket reservations call Philippine Ballet Theatre at 632-8848 or email at secretariat@pbt.ph.
The Philippine Ballet Theatre is the country’s preeminent classical ballet company founded by a group of creative visionaries led by National Artist Leonor Orosa-Goquinco and composed of dance luminaries including Julie Borromeo, Gener Caringal, Eddie Elejar, Vella Damian, Steve Villaruz, Tony Fabella, Tita Radaic, Sony Lopez-Gonzales, Eric V. Cruz, and Inday Gaston-Manosa.